The World Cup could be good for US markets

The 20th FIFA World Cup soccer championship is well underway in Brazil and this might score well for U.S. markets.

The World Cup, which takes place every four years has generally been positive for the markets ever since the tournament was launched in 1930.

Out of 19 previous World Cups, the Dow and S&P 500 gained in at least 12, on average more than 5 percent for the year.

In fact, in nine of those 19 years both the Dow and S&P saw double-digit gains. The biggest advance for the markets came in 1954 when indexes gained more than 43 percent that year.

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When it comes to the World Cup, Brazil has won the championship more than any other nation, and the host country is also the most-favored team to win this year, according to a global survey of 120 analysts polled by Reuters.

But winning the World Cup does not seem to have much impact on the country's domestic index in the long run.

"Initially, whichever country wins the tournament sees a sugar high in their domestic stock market. The majority of the initial boost typically fades after three months and the winning nation normally underperforms the global market average by about 4 percent throughout the year following the World Cup," said Leigh Drogen, founder and CEO of research firm Estimize.

This is the second time Brazil is hosting the World Cup.

The country previously hosted in 1950 when Uruguay won against Brazil in the finals. That year U.S. indexes finished up more than 17 percent.